China Experience 2012 concludes

A group of WKU faculty, staff, students and community members has wrapped up a two-week trip to China led by the Confucius Institute at WKU and hosted by North China Electric Power University (NCEPU). Below is a group photo at the Heavenly Temple in Beijing. To read more about WKU’s China Experience 2012 and view additional photos, visit the group’s blog at http://confuciusinstitutechinaexperience2012.blog.wku.edu.

First Navitas at WKU student graduates

Navitas at WKU student Harveen Kaur of New Delhi, India, graduated in May with a Master of Business Administration from WKU. She is the first graduate from the U.S. Navitas pathway programs.

“WKU is proud and excited to be the first institution in the United States to award a degree to a student enrolled through the Navitas pathways program,” Provost Gordon Emslie said. “We look forward to many more students earning degrees from WKU in the future, as we pursue this important partnership which provides international students with a pathway to a college degree at one of America’s most progressive institutions.”

Kaur began the Navitas Pre-Masters Program in January 2011. While enrolled in this one-semester program, Kaur studied Research Methods, College Reading Strategies for Graduate Students, and Introduction to Leadership Studies. These credit-bearing courses helped prepare her for graduate level courses while giving her time to prepare for her MBA degree.

In August 2011, Kaur began her MBA program with the Gordon Ford College of Business at WKU. WKU’s MBA program includes a one-year, full-time option.

“Our one-year MBA program was designed with international students, like Harveen, in mind,” said Bob Hatfield, WKU’s executive MBA coordinator. “Full-time MBA students graduate by completing MBA classes starting in the fall then spring terms, and completing their degrees after the summer term. This means that MBA students can complete their degree in a 12-month period once they have satisfied their foundation requirements.”

This option fits well with the Navitas Pre-Masters Program.

“We are very proud of Harveen’s success and look forward to having many more Navitas students earn a high-quality MBA degree here at WKU,” Hatfield said.

Pre-Masters Program at Navitas at WKU: The Navitas at WKU Pre-Masters Program (PMP) is a one-semester program for international students coming to study a graduate degree in the USA. Students studying with Navitas at WKU can start earning credit hours toward their master’s degree from day one. Students learn from handpicked WKU faculty, have student support services and can progress into a WKU master’s degree after meeting agreed qualifications.

Contact: Bob Hatfield, (270) 745-6311.

2012 ‘Lighten Your Load’ a success

WKU Housing and Residence Life’s fifth annual Lighten Your Load move-out collection drive was a success. In 2011, the Lighten Your Load drive collected 4,374 items of clothing, household goods and electronics as well as 912 pounds of non-perishable food. This year 4,634 items of clothing, household goods and electronics were collected (an increase of 260 items) as well as 1,793 pounds of non-perishable food (an increase of 881 pounds). All Lighten Your Load items are donated to The Housing Authority of Bowling Green. For more details on the 2012 collection effort, visit the Lighten Your Load website.

Contact: Housing and Residence Life, (270) 745-4359.

Gatton Academy named to list of ‘Public Elites’ for fourth consecutive year

The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU has been named to The Washington Post’s list of top-performing schools with elite students.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Gatton Academy finds itself among the nation’s 22 most distinguished high schools, including many with emphases in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Schools such as the Illinois Math Science Academy, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and Thomas Jefferson High School (Virginia) make perennial appearances on the list. These schools, along with the Gatton Academy, are members of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST).

According to Dr. Tim Gott, the Gatton Academy’s director and NCSSSMST board member, the Commonwealth’s future leaders and innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have already begun to distinguish themselves among peers across the nation through sharing research at the consortium’s student research symposium and Keystone National Youth Policy Summit.

“The Gatton Academy has been extremely fortunate to be involved with NCSSSMST peer institutions,” Gott said. “To have the Gatton Academy on the same list as these other outstanding schools is an incredible honor. The depth and strength of schools such as IMSA and Thomas Jefferson is well established. Kentucky can be very proud that it has a school that stands among these fine institutions.”

Since 1998, Mathews has ranked Washington-area public high schools using the Challenge Index, his measure of how effectively a school prepares its students for college. The Post later expanded its research to high schools across the United States. The ratio is based, in part, on the number of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in the previous year divided by the number of graduating seniors. This year, The Post recognized 1,900 schools from across the country.

The Challenge Index is designed to recognize schools that challenge average students. Top-performing schools, such as The Gatton Academy, were excluded from the regular list of well-performing high schools because of their exceptional quality and remarkably talented student bodies. Specialized schools are, instead, acknowledged by The Public Elites. Qualifying schools with ACT composites greater than 29.5 were included in The Public Elites.

Though 12 Kentucky high schools appear on educational columnist Jay Matthews’ traditional list of top-performing high schools, Dr. Julia Roberts, executive director of the Gatton Academy, noted recognition of schools is an important part of encouraging districts to provide appropriately-challenging learning opportunities for gifted and talented students.

“I think it so wonderful for Kentucky to be celebrating academic excellence,” Roberts said. “We need for all children to be learning every day in school and we need to be developing our talent.”

The Post’s recognition drew attention to the strategic partnership between the Gatton Academy and WKU, which facilitates all coursework for academy students. As part of the rigorous curriculum, students earn more than 60 hours of college credit during their four semesters in the program while also earning a high school diploma.

Corey Alderdice, assistant director for admissions and public relations, praised WKU’s longstanding commitment to the program.

“Time and time again, WKU has proven itself as a university committed to challenging young people who are gifted and talented,” Alderdice said. “From faculty in the classroom and research labs to administrators campuswide, we are proud to have the support of the WKU community in our role of engaging some of the commonwealth’s most innovative thinkers and future leaders.”

Though particular attention is given to the Gatton Academy, Gott was also quick to praise partner high schools across Kentucky that prepare students during elementary, middle, and early high school for study at the Gatton Academy during their junior and senior year of high school.

“The great thing about this honor is that it reflects the partnership that the Gatton Academy has with all of the high schools across the state,” Gott said. “This recognition elevates the amazing students that come from across the whole Commonwealth. Every school represented at the Academy shares in this accolade.”

Since the program’s inception in 2007, students have been admitted from 107 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. In all, students from more than 100 public high schools across the state have enrolled in the program.

Earlier this month, Newsweek magazine ranked the Gatton Academy as the nation’s top high school in its annual survey of “America’s Best High Schools.”

Contact: Corey Alderdice, (270) 745-6565.

Corbin senior first WKU student to receive Boren Scholarship

WKU senior Kevin Worthy of Corbin has become the first WKU student to receive a Boren Scholarship for International Study.

Kevin Worthy

The scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program and provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Worthy will use the scholarship to spend a year studying Chinese language, political science and international affairs, and completing an internship in Nanjing, China.

Worthy, the son of David and Pamela Worthy, is a member of WKU’s Chinese Flagship Program and is a double major in International Affairs and Asian Religions and Cultures. The Boren Scholarship will fund his Capstone Year in Nanjing.

“During my Capstone Year in China, I hope to accomplish much more than just studying Chinese at Nanjing University,” Worthy said. “In addition to a semester of direct enrollment at the university, I will also get involved in a service project relating to my interest in promoting humanitarian aid for people in China. I will also complete a six-month professional internship with a Chinese company.”

Worthy describes winning a major national scholarship to study in China for a year as the culmination of his experience at WKU.

“Since getting involved in the WKU Honors College and then the WKU Chinese Flagship, my experience as an international traveler has been continuous. WKU has provided me with resources and instilled in me the passion to travel abroad and pursue international cultural awareness,” Worthy said.

“I am very happy for and proud of Kevin receiving the scholarship,” said Dr. Jianjun He of WKU’s Chinese Flagship Program. “He is a hard-working student and highly motivated. He is also very sensitive to cultural issues and shows respect to different cultures and ideas.”

The core of the Boren Scholarship application is a two-part statement of purpose that requires applicants to explain the significance of their proposed study abroad experience to U.S. national security, broadly defined, as well as explain how their program of study will help them achieve their academic and career goals. Developing these essays takes several weeks of planning, drafting and revising. Worthy worked with Dr. Melinda Grimsley-Smith of the Office of Scholar Development throughout the application process.

“The Boren application was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. These were not simple essay questions; they required me to dig deep and show how passionate I am about what I am doing and plan to do in China,” Worthy said. “The amount of detail, planning and long hours of research it required, although difficult, gave me the ability to understand applications better, and refined my writing and research skills.”

As a Boren Scholar, Worthy will take advantage of special hiring processes reserved for Scholars, as well as staff dedicated to assisting them to find employment with a Federal employer. Following graduation, Worthy will pursue a position with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) addressing humanitarian issues in China.

About the Chinese Flagship Program: WKU’s federally funded Chinese Flagship Pilot Program is actively redefining the paradigm in language education.  The program is designed to bring talented students who start with no knowledge of Chinese up to the Superior level (ACTFL scale) of proficiency by the time they graduate from college by integrating Chinese language instruction at every stage of the undergraduate educational path and incorporating a capstone year at Nanjing University and working in a professional internship.  Contact: Melinda Edgerton, (270) 745-5043.

About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping WKU students in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in the Boren Scholarship or other similar opportunities.

Contact: Dr. Melinda Grimsley-Smith, (270) 745-5043.

Follow the Bike4Alz riders

WKU students are on a 3,000-mile bike trip across the United States to raise awareness and funding for the Alzheimer’s Association. Bike4Alz, formerly known as Fijis Across America, began a three-month trip from International Falls, Minn., to Key West, Fla., on May 25. During the ride, Bike4Alz will stop in several major metropolitan areas to hold events with the local Alzheimer’s Association chapters. The group’s goal is to raise $175,000 to benefit the organization and raise awareness about the disease.

More: Read a preview of the group’s ride; follow the group’s journey and read blogs by riders.

 

WKU group studies media in Germany

Dr. Laura McGee, head of WKU’s Department of Modern Languages, and Jo-Anne Ryan, assistant director of WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting, are leading a group of students on a May term class to study the media in Germany. The group is pictured below at the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The students have been posting pictures and journaling about their experience. By the end of the trip on June, the group will have visited 10 media sites (newspaper and magazine operations, radio and TV stations, film studios and the press offices of the government) with the goal of comparing the U.S. media to the German media. In addition to reporting on the site visits and writing a comparative report, each student will complete a professional interest project and a report on the German culture. To read more about the trip, visit http://www.wkujournalism.com/germany/